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The "Daisy" Ad

May 28 2012

Instructions

During the 1964 presidential campaign, the advertising firm Doyle Dane Bernbach created one of the most famous political commercials of all time for President Lyndon Johnson, a democrat who was running for reelection against republican Senator Barry Goldwater. The ad ran only once, on September 7, 1964, during NBC's "Monday Night Movie," but was re-aired in its entirety the following night during all three network news broadcasts. Johnson won the election by a large margin in November 1964, with 61.1% of the popular vote.

First, watch the ad. As you’re watching, think about the ad's imagery, what it is trying to convey, the sounds in the ad, and the central message.

Now decide if the following statements were made during the campaign.

On May 24, 1964, Goldwater told a television interviewer that one strategy for winning the war in Vietnam might involve "defoliation of the forests by low-yield atomic weapons."

True

False

During the Republican primary, Goldwater's opponent, Nelson Rockefeller, claimed to agree with Goldwater's stance on nuclear weapons and safety.

True

False

Executives at Doyle Dane Bernbach eagerly accepted the Johnson campaign account when the Democrats approached them in the summer of 1963, later explaining to Johnson's advisers, "We are deadly afraid of Goldwater and feel that the world must be handed a Johnson landslide."

True

False

In response to the ad, Republican National Committee chairman Dean Burch said, "If they want to play hardball, we'll play hardball right back."

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